DE 10 2005 061 832 A1 discloses a high-voltage pulse generator based on a spiral pulse generator which is implemented as an LTCC component such that it can be used in the lamp base or in the outer piston of a high-pressure discharge lamp. Said generator has, as also shown in FIG. 1a, a round basic shape. FIG. 1b shows by way of explanation here the basic relationship with regard to the voltage amplification of a spiral pulse generator as a function of its diameter. The voltage amplification increases appreciably as the diameter increases. However, the problem that reveals itself in the case of high-pressure discharge lamps which require a higher ignition voltage is that the high-voltage pulse generator which is implemented as a round spiral pulse generator becomes too large, since its output voltage UA is dependent on its geometric dimensions, specifically its external and internal diameter (AD, ID), as is expressed by the following formula: UA=2×n×UL×(AD−ID)/AD, where n stands for the number of windings of the spiral pulse generator, and UL for the charging or, as the case may be, input voltage. This equation signifies that the efficiency of a spiral pulse generator is determined inter alia by the ratio of the difference between its internal and external diameter to its average diameter.
If the high-pressure discharge lamp requires a high voltage in order to ignite, i.e. in order to reach a dielectric breakdown between its electrodes, this represents a problem since then the external diameter of a suitable spiral pulse generator becomes greater than the internal diameter of the outer piston of the high-pressure discharge lamp.